Lifesaving Facts You’ll Wish You’d Known Sooner
I'd like to think that I could survive on my own in the wild like the prehistoric hunter-gatherers or Bear Grylls, but the reality is that I can barely tie a knot and get annoyed when being in the cold too long gives me the sniffles. My survival skills are basically non-existent.
Listed here, though, are some helpful facts that can actually save your (or someone else's) life in an emergency situation.
Your Mouth Should Not Normally Taste Like Pennies
Electrical stimulation has been proven to cause people to taste metal despite there being none nearby. Since water is such a good conductor of electricity, an electrical short in a pool is extremely dangerous.
Despite What Nelly Says, It's Not Getting Hot In Here
It's a symptom called "paradoxical undressing": it can lead people to lose even more body heat and the results can be fatal. It often happens in the later stages of hypothermia where a person can also become disoriented, confused, and irritable.
Baking Soda > Water
Stovetop/range cooking accounts for 58% of home fires every year in America. Baking soda helps to stop a grease fire because the particles in it break apart into carbon dioxide, which chokes out the fire and slows its spread.
Morse Code Is A Universal Language
If you're in a situation where all you can do is tap, then you will simply have to add longer pauses between your long taps to distinguish them from short taps.
No Time For Change!
In fact, even cell phones without a SIM card or a service provider are able to call 911. It's good to keep an old cell phone charged in your vehicles for emergencies.
This Is Especially Important In The Pacific
When a tsunami is forming, the shifting of the tectonic plates or a landslide underwater causes the ocean to pull back very suddenly much further than the normal tide. In 2004, a German tourist in Indonesia was able to help save lives when she saw the extremely low tide and told people to run.
Chomp On It
If you think you're experiencing a heart attack, aspirin keeps your blood from clotting and blocking your arteries. Chewing the tablet allows it to enter your bloodstream and work faster.
It's A Pretty Good Theme Song, Too
Additionally, while performing CPR, you're going to hear a loud crack: that's the sound of the person's ribs breaking under the pressure of your compressions, and it means you're doing it right.
Candles Are Old School, But They Work
The heat from one candle is enough to keep you from freezing to death for as long as its lit. Some survival candles can burn for as long as 36 hours. Also, remember to keep something to light it with.
There Are No Almonds In Sight
Cyanide has been previously described as having a "bitter almond" smell by those who've had contact with it. However, it does not always give off an odor, and not everyone is able to detect the odor.
The Skies Are More Accurate Than The Weather Network
Cirrus clouds most often occur in pleasant weather conditions, but a large number of them often indicate an approaching frontal system or upper air disturbance that will arrive within 24 hours.
It's The Most Dangerous To Eat When You're Starving
If your body has been malnourished for days, the body can fall victim to Refeeding Syndrome if you eat/drink too quickly: the severe change in electrolytes and other nutrients in the body can be fatal.
Layer Them On!
You should never remove a tourniquet on a patient if they bleed through them. Instead, you should continue to add more on top until you can get the person to the hospital or doctor.
Hit The Floor, Fellas!
If you try to complete CPR while someone is lying on a bed, too much of the pressure goes into the mattress instead of their heart, making the CPR much less effective.
No, You're Not Pregnant...
A man once peed on a pregnancy test as a joke and it came back positive. As it turned out, he had testicular cancer and the test helped catch it in the early stages.
Pregnancy tests function by detecting beta-human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone in the blood and the urine produced by the developing placenta, but it also tends to develop when a person gets testicular cancer.
Stairs Are Annoying To Climb, But Safe
In general, it's a good idea to take the stairs instead of the elevator in an emergency. However, in floods, the elevator often goes to basement/underground floors that are full of water, trapping and drowning the people inside.
Here, Kitty Kitty
A mountain lion will not stalk or attack you if they see your eyes or face. In fact, most wild animals will do the same. Instead of running, slowly back away from the mountain lion while keeping eye contact.
Noticing Early Signs Can Make A Huge Difference
Additionally, women often experience different symptoms of a heart attack than men, such as lightheadedness, sweating, and upper back pressure. Women are more likely to attribute the feelings to acid reflux or an oncoming flu, but these signs should be taken seriously.
Hopefully, You'll Never Encounter A Tornado
If you see a tornado, it's typically easy to recognize if it is moving to the left or right in your field of vision. However, it's hard to tell when a tornado is moving toward you, and it can instead seem like it is staying still.
Keep It In There Until A Doctor Checks It!
Most times, the item you've been impaled by is the only thing holding the blood inside; removing it could result in severe hemorrhaging and cause a large amount of blood loss. Wait for medical professionals to take care of it.
Service Dogs Are Smart Boys AND Good Boys
If a service dog approaches you while alone, there's a high chance that their owner is experiencing some sort of emergency and they've come to get help as they've been trained to do.
Great On Fries And On Cuts
I have often heard the term "salt in the wound," but I didn't realize it had medical truth behind it. As it turns out, salt can absorb blood, which helps an open wound dry, close, and heal faster. There are better (more effective and less painful) non-emergency solutions, but if all you have around is a wound and a box of salt, it can work.
I'm Not Nuts For Coconuts
Coconuts are heavy (on average 3.1 pounds) and gravity is a thing. If you and your head are sitting under the tree (which can be 40 feet tall) when one or more falls, the coconut will win and your head will lose.
For An Over-The-Counter Drug, It Can Be Dangerous
Tylenol (or more specifically, the drug acetaminophen) is good at relieving pain and lowering fevers, but it can be dangerous to the liver. Taking way too large of a dose at once, taking too many doses over a series of days, or combining it with alcohol can result in acute liver failure.
Please, Don't Be Afraid To Call!
One of the main reasons that overdose is so often fatal is that people experiencing it or those around them are afraid of the legal repercussions of calling for help.
They Can't Walk Either, Forward OR Backwards
If you ever find yourself in a situation going toe-to-toe with a kangaroo, try to get yourself behind it. While the animals are very agile moving side to side, their heavy tails make it impossible for them to jump backward.
Tampons Are Useful For Everyone!
Tampons make great emergency firestarters and the plastic wrapper keeps them dry in damp/wet conditions (although it never hurts to put them in a Ziplock bag, just to be safe).
You Never Know What Injuries You Have
While you might get up and feel fine after a physically traumatic incident like a car accident, you could have a small internal bleed or brain bleed that, if untreated, could be fatal. You're better off going to the hospital and getting a professional opinion.
Take Control Unless Someone With More Knowledge Takes The Reins
When emergencies occur in public where there are multiple people around, a phenomenon called the "diffusion of responsibility" occurs, where people are less likely to help because they assume someone more capable will. By giving people tasks, they're more likely to act quickly.
Don't Pee On Your Friends!
Despite popular belief, you should not urinate on the wound if someone is stung by a jellyfish. Instead, remove any stinger fragments with tweezers and soak the area in warm water. If severe, call emergency services.
Always Walk With A High-Strength Antihistamine
Antihistamines help to alleviate the symptoms of an allergic reaction, so carrying one with you is useful, since you never know when you or someone near you will encounter a new substance that causes an allergic reaction. It can be a single pill that can you keep in your wallet or purse, but having at least one can offer immediate relief.
Keep Your Lifejacket Deflated If A Plane Makes A Water Landing
This might sound counterintuitive, but, in the case of an emergency water landing, you shouldn't immediately inflate your life vest. The buoyancy of the jacket could make it harder for you to escape the plane cabin as it fills with water. Instead, get out of the plane before inflating the vest.
In The Words Of Lil Jon, "Get Low"
In house fires, most deaths are caused by smoke or soot inhalation, not burns. If caught in a fire, get low to the floor where the smoke is thinner so you breathe less of it in.
Carry A Flashlight With You When In Dark/Scary Areas
An extremely bright flashlight can ward off an attacker just as effectively as pepper spray or a weapon. If someone aggressive is approaching you in the dark, a blast of 300+ lumens to their eyes can startle or momentarily blind them so you can get out. If you misread the situation, there's no real harm done.
Be The Most Vigilant Right After Takeoff And Right Before Landing
About 80% of plane crashes occur either within three minutes after the flight takes off or in the eight minutes prior to landing; being extra vigilant of your surroundings during these times can help you react faster in case of an emergency.
Look Up—Your Brain Can't Handle Walking And Texting
Walking and texting at the same time actually takes a large amount of cognitive effort, so you can't fully focus on both at the same time. "Inattention blindness," where you might be unable to see an object because your attention is directed elsewhere, can cause you not to process something dangerous like a car heading toward you.
You Can Glue A Wound Shut In An Emergency
If you don't have a first aid kit on hand or are far from medical help but someone needs stitches to close a wound, you can super-glue it shut as a temporary measure.
Look For Fences Or Water If Lost In The Woods
If you find yourself lost in the wilderness during a hike or some other activity, look for a stream or a fence. Streams always flow downhill and reach a larger tributary or a body of water where you're more likely to find civilization, and a fence will almost always lead to a road or a building.
Really Look Into Your Eyes
Hyperlipidemia—high levels of fat in the blood—often causes a gray ring to develop around the iris, especially in middle-aged people. The condition often has dangerous implications for heart health and can lead to a heart attack.
Remember The Rule Of Threes
The rule of threes is an easy way to remember the limits of the human body: people can generally go three minutes without air, three hours without shelter in extreme weather environments, three days without water, and three weeks without food.
